Cat's Claw - Herx or side effect?

So I've been treating herbally since last fall and a few months back I realized the powder I'm taking (Samsara - Lyme) doesn't contain the kind of Cat's Claw Buhner recommends for Lyme! (They just recently added the scientific names to the ingredient list.) All the others are the correct herbs though, so only Cat's Claw (Uncaria tomentosa) is new to me.

I've been using Cat's Claw (the real stuff) in a pill form for only a few months now and seem to herx like mad on it. I can't get beyond 500mg a day without feeling achy and tired. My joints and tendons especially start to really act up. And here is where I have a question: I keep reading on the internet about people who say Cat's Claw can cause issues with tendons/ligaments. Has anyone else heard this? I just assumed what I was feeling was an intensification of my existing symptoms, which have always included joint and ligament pain. Has anyone here actually heard any reliable information regarding Cat's Claw and joint/ligament issues? I want to keep taking it and would even like to ramp up more eventually. So I'm hoping the ligament pain is a herx.

Thanks, WalkingbyFaith, I definitely have Bartonella. I tested positive for it on two different types of tests, so maybe that's what's happening.

I will continue on the Cat's Claw dose I'm taking. It doesn't bother me unless I increase it. I currently cut a 500 mg tablet in half and take half in the morning and the other half in the evening. But it seems like a pathetic amount, so I worry that it's not enough. I wonder if there is something else I should take since I can't take more Cat's Claw. Below is what I take daily. If anyone can think of anything else I should add to kind of cover what I'm not getting with a larger dose of Cat's Claw, that would be great.

Cordyceps, JKW, Sida acuta, kudzu, chinese skullcap, Uncaria rhynchophylla, houttuynia, NAC, milk thistle, red root, fish oil, glucosamine, HLA, plus many high quality vitamins and mineral supplements. I also take a few drops each of Beyond Balance's IMN-B and IMN-V.

Post Edited (Manzanita2) : 4/23/2018 11:39:29 AM (GMT-6)

Manzanita2 said...
Thanks, WalkingbyFaith, I definitely have Bartonella. I tested positive for it on two different types of tests, so maybe that's what's happening.

I will continue on the Cat's Claw dose I'm taking. It doesn't bother me unless I increase it. I currently cut a 500 mg tablet in half and take half in the morning and the other half in the evening. But it seems like a pathetic amount, so I worry that it's not enough. I wonder if there is something else I should take since I can't take more Cat's Claw. Below is what I take daily. If anyone can think of anything else I should add to kind of cover what I'm not getting with a larger dose of Cat's Claw, that would be great.

Cordyceps, JKW, Sida acuta, kudzu, chinese skullcap, Uncaria rhynchophylla, houttuynia, NAC, milk thistle, red root, fish oil, glucosamine, HLA, plus many high quality vitamins and mineral supplements. I also take a few drops each of Beyond Balance's IMN-B and IMN-V.

Your protocol sounds good. about the same as mine. If you think that's a pathetic amount, look at me. I'm 10 months into the protocol and only got up to 3/4 tsp of powdered knotweed, 10 drops Gou-tent, 4 drops Sida, 6 drops IHA, 5 drops Bidens, and about 1/16 tsp powdered cat's claw before having to stop and reduce dosages and start over after endless herxing and a gut snafu 2 weeks ago.

We're all different and many of us have hidden (or obvious) issues in conjunction with Lyme and co that make treatment more difficult and less straightforward than we would like. Don't sweat the dosage. Keep at it at the level you can tolerate. You never know when that wall is going to break and you start moving faster toward the finish line.